A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 07 eBook

and intendant of the custom-house sent for me, and
demanded to know why I did not land my goods, and pay
the duties like the rest; on which I said that I was
a stranger, only new to the country, and observing
so much disorder among the Portuguese, I was afraid
to lose my goods, which I was determined not to bring
on shore, unless the governor would promise me in
the king’s name that no harm should come to
me or my goods, whatever might happen to the Portuguese,
with whom I had taken no part in the late tumult.
As what I said seemed reasonable, the governor sent
for the Bargits, who are the councillors of
the city, who engaged, in the name of the king, that
neither I nor my goods should meet with any injury,
and of which they made a notarial entry or memorandum.
I then sent for my goods, and paid the customs, which
is ten per centum of the value at that port; and for
my greater security I hired a house for myself and
my goods, directly facing the house of the governor.

In the sequel, the captain of the Portuguese and all
the merchants of that nation, were driven out of the
city, in which I remained, along with twenty-one poor
men, who were officers in the ship I came in from
Malacca. The Gentiles had determined on being
revenged of the Portuguese for their insolence, but
had delayed till all the goods were landed from our
ship; and the very next night there arrived four thousand
soldiers from Pegu, with some war elephants.
Before these made any stir in the city, the governor
issued orders to all the Portuguese, in case of hearing
any noise or clamour in the city, not to stir from
their houses on pain of death. About four hours
after sunset, I heard a prodigious noise and tumult
of men and elephants, who were bursting open the doors
of the Portuguese warehouses, and overturning their
houses of wood and straw, in which tumult some of
the Portuguese were wounded, and one of them slain.
Many of those who had before boasted of their courage,
now fled on board some small vessels in the harbour,
some of them fleeing naked from their beds. That
night the Peguers carried all the goods belonging
to the Portuguese from the suburbs into the city, and
many of the Portuguese were likewise arrested.
After this, the Portuguese who had fled to the ships
resumed courage, and, landing in a body, set fire
to the houses in the suburbs, and as these were entirely
composed of boards covered with straw, and the wind
blew fresh at the time, the entire suburbs were speedily
consumed, and half of the city had like to have been
destroyed. After this exploit, the Portuguese
had no hopes of recovering any part of their goods,
which might amount to the value of 16,000 ducats,
all of which they might assuredly have got back if
they had not set the town on fire.